A Christmas Wish
by crazydominodragongirl
Summary: YugiTea There's only one thing Yugi wants for Christmas: to go to the dance with Tea. But can he summon up the courage to ask her?


Christmas ficcie!  Yay!  This'll be Yugi/Tea, so if you don't support the couple and/or don't like Tea, then don't read it!  Reading this just to flame will be a big waste of time.  Oh, by the way, this is NOT yaoi.  I don't write yaoi.  Anyway!

Notes:

"Speech"

'Thoughts' 

/Yugi to Yami/

//Yami to Yugi//

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh!, there'd be a mass stocking production market with pictures of Ryou and Bakura wearing Santa hats.  As it is, no such stocking exists, so you can tell I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

A Christmas Wish

By crazydominodragongirl

Yugi stared out the window of the Game Shop, watching the raindrops fall and slide down the glass.  Tomorrow was the night of the Christmas dance, and he really wanted to go, but not with his group of friends like they had planned.  No, there was someone that he wanted to ask out, but the question was if he could gather up the courage to ask her…

"Yugi?" a voice asked from behind him.  Yugi jerked in surprise and turned around to see his grandpa. "Shouldn't you be heading to school already?"

Yugi glanced at the clock above the counter in surprise, noticing for the first time how late he was. "You're right, grandpa!  I really should get going!" He grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, dashing out of the shop and into the pouring rain.  He immediately wished he'd brought an umbrella, but it was a little late for that.  He was already thoroughly soaked.

Yugi shivered slightly, but his thoughts were already on other things. _'How am I going to ask her?  I really don't know what to say, and today's my last chance, too.  If I don't ask her today, I won't get to go with her.  But what if she's already agreed to go to the dance with someone else?'_

A soft chuckle interrupted his thoughts, and Yami's voice entered his head. //Don't worry about it, Yugi.  I'm sure she'll go with you if you just ask her.//

/But what if she's going with someone else?  And she might turn me down, and I've already bought two tickets./

Yami laughed again. //Well, let me ask her, then.  My pharaoh's charm always gets me the girl.//

Yugi had to smile at that. /But what if she thinks it's you that's asking her out, and not me?/

//…that might be a problem.  I'll think of something.//

/Don't worry about it, Yami.  I'll ask her myself./ Yugi added silently to himself, _'If I can gather the courage to.'_

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

As it was, Yugi was almost late to his first class, so he had no time to talk to anyone, much less gather his courage and ask someone out to the dance.  So it was that, when lunchtime rolled around, Yugi wasn't hanging out with Joey and Tristan like he usually did.  Instead, he had pulled Tea off to one side and was fidgeting nervously under her gaze.

"What is it, Yugi?" she asked, totally oblivious to the way the shorter boy was acting.

Yugi avoided Tea's eyes and didn't answer.  Yami's amused voice rang in his head once again. //Are you going to ask her, Yugi, or should I?  You do remember she had a crush on me for a time, after I rescued her in Burger World?// (A/N: This actually happened… it's in the first YGO graphic novel)

"Well, um, Tea, I just wanted to ask you-"

"What?"

//Hurry up and get it over with, aibou.//

/If you want me to go with her so much, you come out and ask her for me!/

Yugi instantly regretted it.  Yami appeared beside him, startling Tea for a brief moment. "What Yugi wants to know is, will you go out to the Christmas dance with him?"

Now it was Tea's turn to look uncomfortable. "Yugi, I'm really sorry, and I really would go with you, except I already promised a senior I'd go with him…"

"Oh…" Yugi tried not to sound too disappointed. "That's okay.  I guess I'll just have to be faster next time around."

"Yeah…" Tea said, trying not to look too uncomfortable.

Yami glanced at Yugi sympathetically before fading away. //So much for my pharaoh's charm, I guess.  Must be losing my touch.//

/Don't worry about it, Yami./ Yugi said, trying not to let his darker half feel his disappointment. /It's my fault for not asking her earlier.  I'll just have to ask her as soon as I can next time.  Unless she was just making it up and didn't really want to go with me…/

//You heard what she said, Yugi.  She would go with you if she wasn't already taken…//

/Yeah, I guess, but it's too late for that now, isn't it?/ Yugi asked, sounding slightly bitter. /It doesn't matter.  There's always next time./

//Yugi…// Yami began, but didn't get to finish as the soul link was abruptly cut off.  He sighed and slumped against the wall of his soul room.  There had to be something he could do about this whole thing.

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

It rained the whole day, so Yugi was once again soaked through by the time he got home from school.  He dumped his bag on the floor and just stared at the window, grateful that, for once, the teachers hadn't given him any homework.  Still staring at the raindrops sliding down the pane, Yugi's thoughts turned to the dance again.  He still had the tickets, but what was the point of going now?  Oh, sure, he'd promised Joey and Tristan that he'd go, but now he didn't want to, if Tea was going to enjoy herself with someone else.  And besides, he still had that extra ticket, and there was no one else he wanted to invite.  Yugi reached into his backpack, fully intending to take out both tickets and rip them up, when a hand grabbed his arm and stopped him.  He looked up to see his yami, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, aibou, just because she turned you down doesn't mean you shouldn't go." Yami told him. "You could still get a dance with Tea, even if someone else invited her there.  Besides, Joey and Tristan will be wondering why you don't want to go, and do you really want to explain what happened to those two?"

Yugi sweatdropped. "Good point." He withdrew his hand and sat in thought for a moment before asking, "But what about that extra ticket?  What should I do with it?"

Yami grinned. "I'll go.  I think it'll be fun."

Yugi stared at him. "You could just come in the Puzzle and come out when you want to dance…"

Yami shook his head. "Nah.  This way I get to decide what I want to wear, and I'll have more chance of getting someone to dance with than if I just stay in my soulroom until I feel like it."

Yugi shrugged and gave up. "Sure, fine.  Whatever you want." _'Not like what you're going to wear isn't going to be the same as mine.'_

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

The next evening, Yugi and Yami walked the whole way to school from the Game Shop to go to the dance.  They met up with Joey and Tristan at the front doors of the school and chatted for a bit.  A car pulled up next to the steps, and who should step out of it but a certain Tea Gardner, looking stunning in a light blue, long-sleeved dress, with a pink scarf wrapped around her neck.  Joey and Tristan's mouths dropped open, and Yugi looked away, blushing.  A man stepped out of the driver's seat and, bowing, took Tea's hand.  She winked at the four boys as she passed by and breezed her way into the doors of the school.

"Who was that guy?" Tristan asked.

"Her date, probably." Yugi muttered.

"I don't like him." Joey said immediately.

Yugi sighed. "I don't like it either, but Joey, you should stop stereotyping every guy who goes out with one of your friends."

"Joey may have a point, Yugi." Yami said so only his hikari could hear. "I'll keep an eye on him.  For some reason, I don't trust that man."

Yugi shot his yami a puzzled glance, but Yami only shook his head as an answer.  Yugi shrugged, and together the four friends entered the auditorium.

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

The fifth dance of the night was when Tea decided to take a break.  Telling the senior that she was tired, she walked over to the refreshment table and grabbed a cup of punch.  She was drinking it and watching the girls crowd around her date when a voice from behind her caught her attention. "Um… Tea?"

Tea spun around quickly, caught by surprise. "Oh, Yugi!  Hi."

"Are you having fun?" the shorter boy asked.  Tea sweatdropped.

"Oh yes, plenty." she replied dryly. "Ignore the fact that the guy who asked me here is dancing with every girl in the school."

Yugi laughed. "Well, do you like the refreshments, then?"

Tea grinned. "They're better than my date." They talked like this for a while, until one of Tea's favorite songs came on.  The girl blinked and grinned. "Hey Yugi, wanna dance?"

"Wha-" Yugi had no time to answer as she grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. "Well, okay then!"

Neither of them noticed the senior in the corner, death-glaring at the pair of them through the throngs of girls surrounding him.

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

Tea walked out into the chill night air, her breathing forming clouds before her as she went.  She smiled slightly, remembering Yugi's face when he had tripped and fallen straight into Joey as she was dancing with him.  The best part of the evening so far was easily the part that she _hadn't_ spent with her "date". "Next time, that guy better not have the nerve to ask me out," she muttered. _'Next time I'm going with Yugi.  At least HE seems to appreciate me.'_ She sighed, watching as her breath once again formed mist in front of her face.

"What guy?" someone asked.  Tea sighed as she recognized the voice of the senior.

"Oh, I don't know," she replied sarcastically. "Maybe the person who asked me to this dance in the first place."

Coming up behind her, the man wrapped his arms around her and put his chin on her shoulder. "Who, me?  Sorry babe, I couldn't get away from those girls."

Tea tore herself away from his hug.  Turning around to face him, she glared at him and answered, "Oh really?  You seemed quite willing to dance with them."

The look on the senior's face turned angry. "And _you_ seemed quite willing to dance with that kid," he answered. "If he wanted to go with you, he should've asked you."

"He did." Tea replied calmly. "He was just a little too late.  And unlike you, Yugi likes me for who I am."

"Well, isn't that sweet," the senior sneered.  Grabbing her arm, he pulled it roughly. "C'mon, we're going back to the school, and this time you're only gonna dance with me."

"And if I don't want to?" Tea retorted, trying to pull her arm away.  The man's grip only tightened, and she winced and gave up.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in the matter," her date said, grinning cruelly.

"What's going on here?" a voice asked from the shadows, and Yami stepped where the other two could see him.

"Well, what do we have here?" the senior drawled. "I think it's the kid my girl was dancing with before." He put a possessive arm around Tea's shoulders, and she glared at him.

Tea was about to open her mouth and correct him, but Yami shot her a look that told her not to. "So what if I am?" the Pharaoh asked. "What are you going to do about it?"

The senior left Tea's side and approached Yami. "Well, then I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson for dancing with my girl!"

"There's an idea." Yami replied dryly. "But how about this one: we'll play a game.  Winner gets Tea and does whatever he feels like to the loser."

"What sort of game?" Tea's date asked warily.  Yami smirked.

"It's easy enough.  You've heard of Duel Monsters, right?" The senior nodded. "All right.  You pick a card from your respective deck, but you aren't allowed to look at it.  You tell me if you think I'll draw a card that has a higher or lower attack power than your monster.  If you get it right, you win, but no cheating."

"Sounds simple enough." The senior grabbed his deck out of his pocket and drew a card without looking.  "I think your monster will have… higher attack points."

Yami frowned slightly at the card: a Flame Viper.  With 450 attack points, there was only one card in his deck weaker than that, but he felt confident that he could draw it.  He reached for his deck and pulled out a card with his eyes closed.  He risked a peek and then smirked as he recognized the card. "Kuriboh!  With 300 attack points, it's beaten by your monster.  And now here's your reward!  Mind Crush!"  The student screamed as his mind was forever trapped in the Shadow Realm.

Smiling, Yami turned to Tea and bowed to her. "Shall we go back to the dance?" he asked, offering her his arm. "I know someone who would be willing to spend the rest of it with you."

Tea smiled back at him. "I guess next time I should just wait for him to ask me, hmm?"

Yami chuckled. "Next time he won't be so long in asking."

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

The window again.  Yugi's breath fogged it up slightly as he stared outside, watching absently as Yami and Tea approached from a distance.  There really wasn't anything to do anymore; Joey and Tristan were busy trying (and failing) to flirt with a group of girls in the corner.  All he wanted to do now was dance with Tea, and her date probably wouldn't let that happen.

"And what if I told you that I took care of him for you?" Yami asked from behind him, having once again read his hikari's thoughts.  Yugi spun around, his eyes widening at the sight of Tea.  Yami smirked and bowed quickly before heading to the refreshment table, leaving the two alone.  Tea walked forward to stand in front of the window next to Yugi.

The two stood in silence for a while, watching the cars pass by and the faint twinkle of holiday lights in the distance.  After a while, Tea gasped slightly and grabbed Yugi's arm, pointing outside. "Look!  It's snowing!"

Yugi blinked and turned to the window, noticing that, for the first time this winter, snow was actually falling instead of the drab rain he had become used to.  He smiled. "It is, isn't it?  And the perfect time for it, too."

"Yeah…" Tea didn't let go of Yugi's hand as they watched the white stuff slowly pile up on the windowsill. "You know, Yugi…" she began, then gasped as her eye caught sight of something red and green above her head.  She glanced up and sweatdropped. "Yugi… we're standing under the mistletoe."

Yugi glanced up and blushed. "Oh." he said in a completely deadpan voice.

Tea sent him a sideways glance. "Did you plan this?" No answer.  She started to smile. "You planned this, didn't you?"

Yugi gave her a mischievous grin. "Maybe." He turned to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.  As her soft breath hit his cheek and their lips met for the first time since they had met, a single thought floated across his suddenly empty mind.

This was the most perfect holiday gift ever.

@----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @----- @-----

Yami stood off to the side, viewing them with a bit of a smile on his face. "When you first got the Puzzle, you made a wish on it, Yugi, knowing it would be granted to you." he whispered. "You were right-the Puzzle does grant wishes, in more ways than one." He chuckled slightly, knowing that, no matter what happened, tonight would be one night that would forever remain in his hikari's memory.

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And… done!  Just in time, too!  This is my first romance fic, so tell me what you think.  No flames (flames will be saved to light the fireplace with next Christmas Eve), but constructive criticism is welcome.


End file.
